Global Health Master Thesis

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/AM_1116

Course Objective

During the MSc Global Health (Research) thesis course, the student learns to:
- Independently design and carry out transdisciplinary research (under supervision)
- Recognise and address ethical implications of research results and their interpretation
- Hold scientific discussions in interdisciplinary teams
- Expand their personal, specialised network
- Deal with uncertainties in interdisciplinary
- and transdisciplinary research
- Critically reflect on their own research and work experiences
- Orally present and defend the research in front of both a scientific and non-scientific audience The student practices the following skills:
- Independently designing a research project (under supervision)
- Independently collecting, processing and analysing data (under supervision)
- Communicating with different stakeholders involved in the research
- Independently and responsibly working in a research organisation
- Monitoring the research quality
- Independently integrating theory and research data, which will lead to the production of a scientific article (under supervision)

Course Content

In this second research internship of the MSc Global Health (Research), a concrete transdisciplinary health problem is formulated, based on descriptive and analytical questions at different levels of aggregation (individual, group, society, system). The complexity of the health problem, combined with the use of transdisciplinary research methods, makes this internship more multifaceted as compared to the first research internship. The student starts with a literature scan to place the specific transdisciplinary research problem in context, compare it with similar problems, and interpret it using an existing global health system model. This analysis provides the basis for the main research question as well as relevant sub-questions, and these will determine the research methodology. Quantitative and qualitative research methods are encouraged to gather data, and perspectives from multiple stakeholders must be included to meet the transdisciplinary research component. Students must collect at least some of the data analysed themselves. The research project culminates in a research portfolio and a scientific article written in English, accompanied by a portfolio, and an oral presentation of the research results. The full-time, five-month research project is supervised by a scientific employee from one of the three collaborating partner institutes of the MSc Global Health (Research) (VU, UvA, AIGHD/AUMC). Students will also be supported by an on-site research supervisor at the host organisation. Host organisations are typically academic or other research institutes, NGOs, government departments or healthcare organisations.

Teaching Methods

Individual supervision and or intervision (group instruction/supervision), meetings with the research team, and progress interviews. Attendance of all supervision sessions, progress interviews and the oral presentation is mandatory.

Method of Assessment

Portfolio/Article and oral presentation. All parts need to be passed (6.0) to pass the course.

Literature

Appropriate literature to support methodology and method choices and practices will be provided or listed via Canvas.

Target Audience

Second-year students of the MSc Global Health (Research)

Additional Information

Obligatory course for MSc Global Health (Research) students.

Entry Requirements

Students need to have passed the exams of 24 EC of the compulsory courses of year 1 and the courses Addressing the Disease Burden in a Global Context and Advanced Methodology ILA in Global Health of year 2 (12 EC) before they can start the Global Health Master thesis.